Vermivora chrysoptera

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

Bibliography

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	PASSERIFORMES	PARULIDAE

Scientific Name:

Vermivora chrysoptera

Species Authority:

(Linnaeus, 1766)

Common Name/s:

English

–

Golden-winged Warbler

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Near Threatened ver 3.1

Year Published:

2008

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Bird, J., Butchart, S.

Contributor/s:

Canterbury, R., Wells, J., Buehler, D., Confer, J., Rosenberg, K.

Justification:
This species has declined rapidly in southern parts of its breeding range in recent years. Northern populations faired better but overall moderately rapid declines have been recorded. Therefore, it qualifies as Near Threatened, but if declines continue to worsen in the north of its breeding range it may warrant uplisting to Vulnerable in the future.

History:

2004

–

Near Threatened

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Vermivora chrysoptera breeds from southern Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec, Canada, and northern New York, southern Vermont and eastern Massachusetts, USA, south through the eastern USA to Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina². Birds winter from the Yucatán Peninsula (Mexico and Belize) and Guatemala, south through El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama to northern and eastern Colombia and northern Venezuela²; wintering birds are occasionally recorded from the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Puerto Rico¹. Although it had increased and expanded its distribution for more than a century, evidence from the North American Breeding Birds Survey suggests that it is declining in its southern range, from Georgia to New England (where decline has been particularly severe)⁵. It increased over the last c.30 years in the northern part of its breeding range^3,5, although recently declines have been recorded⁷. Estimates suggest a current population of c.210,000 birds⁶.
Countries:	Native: Belize; Canada; Colombia; Costa Rica; Cuba; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; El Salvador; Guatemala; Haiti; Honduras; Jamaica; Mexico; Nicaragua; Panama; Puerto Rico; United States; Venezuela; Virgin Islands, British; Virgin Islands, U.S. Vagrant: Barbados; French Polynesia; Netherlands Antilles; Trinidad and Tobago; United Kingdom
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	Rich et al. PIF North American Landbirds Conservation Plan (2004).
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Breeds in open deciduous woodland, secondary growth, brushy pastures and bogs², apparently favouring a particular stage in woodland succession³. When the habitat passes this stage, birds move on³. All kinds of woodland and scrub are used during migration, and birds generally winter in secondary growth forest or forest edge with a good understorey³. Most records come from below 2,000 m, and right down to sea-level³. The well-hidden nest is usually on or close to the ground, and breeding takes place in May and June³.
Systems:	Terrestrial; Freshwater

Habitat and Ecology:

Breeds in open deciduous woodland, secondary growth, brushy pastures and bogs², apparently favouring a particular stage in woodland succession³. When the habitat passes this stage, birds move on³. All kinds of woodland and scrub are used during migration, and birds generally winter in secondary growth forest or forest edge with a good understorey³. Most records come from below 2,000 m, and right down to sea-level³. The well-hidden nest is usually on or close to the ground, and breeding takes place in May and June³.

Systems:

Terrestrial; Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Local declines correlate with advancing succession and reforestation, and the invasive range expansion of Blue-winged Warbler Vermivora pinus⁴. Other possible causes of population declines are loss of wintering habitat (especially forest edge and open woodland) thorugh agricultural expansion and clearance for plantations, nest parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater and hybridisation with V. pinus⁴.

Major Threat(s):

Local declines correlate with advancing succession and reforestation, and the invasive range expansion of Blue-winged Warbler Vermivora pinus⁴. Other possible causes of population declines are loss of wintering habitat (especially forest edge and open woodland) thorugh agricultural expansion and clearance for plantations, nest parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater and hybridisation with V. pinus⁴.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	Conservation Actions Underway None are known. Conservation Actions Proposed Continue monitoring population trends. Identify the principal threats and develop management actions to remedy them. Management to maintain or create suitable habitat; a forty-year cycle of burning 10-20 ha units of habitat has been proposed. Investigate the control and removal of nest parasite (Brown-headed Cowbird) populations.

Conservation Actions:

Conservation Actions Underway
None are known.

Conservation Actions Proposed
Continue monitoring population trends. Identify the principal threats and develop management actions to remedy them. Management to maintain or create suitable habitat; a forty-year cycle of burning 10-20 ha units of habitat has been proposed. Investigate the control and removal of nest parasite (Brown-headed Cowbird) populations.

Bibliography [top]

	AOU. 1983. Check-list of North American birds. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D C. Bond, J. 1979. Birds of the West Indies. Collins, London. Buehler, D.A., Roth, A.M., Vallender, R., Will, T.C., Confer, J.L., Canterbury, R.A., Barker Swarthout, S., Rosenberg, K.V. and Bulluck, L.P. 2007. Status and conservation priorities of golden-winged warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera) in North America. Auk 124(4): 1439-1445. Confer, J. L. 1992. Golden-winged Warbler Vermivora chrysoptera. In: Poole, A.; Gill, F. (ed.), The birds of North America, No. 20, pp. 1-16. The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadephia and the American Ornithologists' Union, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. Curson, J.; Quinn, D.; Beadle, D. 1994. New World warblers. A&C Black/Christopher Helm, London.

AOU. 1983. Check-list of North American birds. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D C.

Bond, J. 1979. Birds of the West Indies. Collins, London.

Buehler, D.A., Roth, A.M., Vallender, R., Will, T.C., Confer, J.L., Canterbury, R.A., Barker Swarthout, S., Rosenberg, K.V. and Bulluck, L.P. 2007. Status and conservation priorities of golden-winged warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera) in North America. Auk 124(4): 1439-1445.

Confer, J. L. 1992. Golden-winged Warbler Vermivora chrysoptera. In: Poole, A.; Gill, F. (ed.), The birds of North America, No. 20, pp. 1-16. The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadephia and the American Ornithologists' Union, Philadelphia and Washington, DC.

Curson, J.; Quinn, D.; Beadle, D. 1994. New World warblers. A&C Black/Christopher Helm, London.

Citation:	BirdLife International 2008. Vermivora chrysoptera. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 22 May 2012.
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